Frederick's heart stopped, and he jolted back. Despite icy dread crushing his insides, he raised his hands and focused on conjuring his power. 

Before he summoned even a trickle, an invisible wall rammed into his side and toppled him to the ground. It then crushed down on his chest until he struggled to breathe. Like with the Cloaked Figure, Frederick strained his arms and legs to free himself but failed. Unlike the previous incident, the suffocating pressure seemed intentional.

Nicholas stood over him. Between his inky black aura and predatory glare, his demeanor screamed danger. Frederick’s heart raced, and every nerve urged him to flee or curl into a ball. Instead, he forced himself to stay calm and considered how to de-escalate the situation.

“What do you mean?” Frederick asked. “You say you’re hunting ‘my kind,’ but what is that?”

“Don’t play dumb,” Nicholas snapped. “You were awfully smart, splitting off and creating a fake identity. I expected something more spectacular from you than transcribing lectures and sermons, but it worked. I didn’t detect you all these years until now.”

More questions swarmed his mind, but Frederick ignored them. His so-called client had connections to the shadowy beasts and sought to hunt him down. If he didn’t escape soon, Nicholas might get his wish. Closing his eyes, he imagined flinging Nicholas across the park.

Blinding pain exploded in his head, shattering his focus. He wanted to curl into a ball and shrink away from the world. Unfortunately, with Nicholas restraining him, he couldn’t even determine if the attack had come from the physical or astral world.

Through the excruciating haze, Nicholas’s words rang through. “Really? You’re dedicated to this newbie facade. No matter. I’ll show you how it’s done.”

The pressure on Frederick disappeared. He prepared to stand, but he rocketed to the pavilion ceiling and slammed into it with a thud. Whatever lifted him continued pressing him against the old metal until his face went numb. 

It faded in time for a second stronger force to throw him to the ground. The impact knocked the wind out of him. Combined with the intense pain and invisible grip squeezing his lungs, Frederick heaved as he fought for much needed air.

Unfortunately, he didn’t get much before he collided with the pavilion support beam. The metal edges dug into his back and legs until the skin threatened to tear. If not for him fighting back, he might’ve started bleeding.

Nicholas stood before him and grabbed his chin. “Still not fighting back, huh? I almost feel sorry for you.”

“What do you want?” Frederick asked.

“Now, that’s the million dollar question.”

He scanned their surroundings. While Frederick fought to free himself, he discovered he could move his hands and forearms. Keeping his movements slow, he reached toward his pocket and grabbed his mobile phone. 

Then, he scanned the screen in his peripheral vision, all while ensuring Nicholas stayed distracted. No new messages appeared, which relieved and concerned Frederick. After unlocking it, he considered messaging Lian Hai or calling the police. He didn’t know how quickly Lian Hai could astral project there or whether the latter handled interdimensional monsters.

It didn’t matter. His short emergency message to Lian Hai failed to send, and no calls went out.

Worse, the device overheated until it burned his hands. When he shoved it in his pocket, his fingertips were turning red. Even through coarse cloth, the device burned his leg. He refused to let go of it despite the pain, not wanting to lose his best way to call for help.

“Sorry to disappoint,” Nicholas said, his tone anything but. “Earth-based technology doesn’t work in the limbo between layers.”

Part of Frederick wanted to snap back that even if the limbo between astral layers didn’t have cell service, it shouldn’t have caused the phone to burn. Although the device ranked low in his priorities, sidetracking could buy precious seconds to resist or escape.

An outlandish idea hit him. Despite doubts, he didn’t see other alternatives. He tilted his head back and pretended to whisper something. 

“What was that?” Nicholas asked. “You’ll have to speak up.”

Frederick ignored him and continued whispering random words. Additionally, he put his hands together to mimic praying. Hopefully, Nicholas wouldn’t notice the exact position of his hands.

He smirked. “It’s nice that you appear to hold onto your faith even in a time like this. I’d find it touching if I didn’t know what your kind is actually like.” 

He lunged. Frederick grabbed his cell phone, gritting his teeth through the pain, then shoved it into Nicholas’s face. Nicholas’s eyes widened, and he stumbled back with a grunt. Before he could reorient himself, Frederick punched him in the face as hard as he could. Intense heat shot from his chest to his fist, and the impact sent Nicholas crashing into the table.

Soon, Frederick was sprinting out of the park. His footsteps pounded against dirt, then pavement, matching his pounding heart and heaving lungs. However, he refused to stop even when exhaustion burned his muscles. Although his attack had knocked out Nicholas, he didn’t want to waste his narrow window of escape. 

As Frederick ran through the neighborhood, he searched for pedestrians or drivers. None passed him. Furthermore, glancing into house windows showed nobody inside. He might’ve dismissed it as people at work or running errands, but several empty houses had cars outside.

What was going on?

As the adrenaline and pain faded, a subtle but distinct tingling filled his extremities.

Frederick’s heart stopped, and he muttered, “Shit.”

He searched for a hiding spot before settling on some thick juniper bushes in someone’s yard. Returning home crossed his mind, but if his predictions were correct, he didn’t want to show Nicholas where he lived. Moreover, he didn’t know whether he’d make it there before Nicholas or another hostile force grabbed him.

Once he lay out of view, Frederick closed his eyes and focused on returning to his physical body. No matter how much he slowed his breathing and relaxed his muscles, his mind stayed as alert as ever. 

Frustrated, he scanned himself. He didn’t look translucent, nor did his aura hover over him. Between his growing terror and recent pain, surely, it should’ve flared enough that even he could see it. Not to mention he should’ve phased through the pergola when Nicholas threw him into it.

What if he wasn’t astral projecting?

A hand clamping down on his shoulder interrupted his thought. With a jolt, Frederick prepared to fight back, but icy burning pain stabbed through his chest, and the air solidified around him until he couldn’t move.

“Clever bastard. You’ve even learned some new tricks,” Nicholas growled as his grip tightened. “Fortunately, so have I.”

Frederick strained his muscles as he fought to escape. He didn’t get far before Nicholas dragged him out of the juniper bush. The ground dropped from beneath him, and the world spun. Despite that, the scraping of evergreen needles provided an anchor point. As a last-ditch effort, he lunged for the longest branch.

His hand wrapped around a tree trunk, and jagged bark dug into his skin instead of rounded needles.

When he opened his eyes, he was staring at a massive pine tree.

Although shocking, the sudden plant swap didn’t compare to his sunny suburban neighborhood transforming into an icy and foggy forest.

Any question about whether he was astral projecting vanished when the frigid chill cut through his button-up shirt and seeped into his bones. It matched the spectral grasp locking him in place.

Nicholas circled around him. “Like the new setting? I didn’t want to risk destroying your beautiful neighborhood, especially since it’s not their fault you infiltrated their ranks.”

Frederick didn’t respond, his brain reeling from trying to process the situation. Somehow, he’d gone from his neighborhood to a location he’d only seen in his astral projection trips. Between trying to orient himself and finding an escape route, his brain threatened to shut down. He didn’t realize he’d collapsed until ice and dirt scraped at his knees.

A hand jerked his chin up. Even without the telekinetic grip, Frederick didn’t know if he could resist. Nicholas smiled, and with how his eyebrows knitted, he almost looked sympathetic.

The steely hunger in his eyes ruined the facade.

“So lost. So hopeless,” he said, his tone a hollow imitation of his earlier friendliness. “To think you somehow took out five of my scouts by yourself. I thought you might’ve posed a real threat. Now, you’re not even worth killing.”

His talking down sparked fire in Frederick, and he embraced it to swing a fist at his nose. Despite the heaviness in his arm, his hand glowed until it turned white.

Nicholas grabbed his fist mid swing, and the light died.

The energy drained from his hand, then his arm, and it spread upward.

Nicholas shook his head. “Next time, at least try something new.”

Frederick gritted his teeth and raised his other fist. Icy hot pain shot up his arm into his chest, where it intensified until he could do little more than seize and bite back a scream. Even without switching to his spectral vision, he could feel Nicholas’s inky aura draining him of power and life. When he closed his eyes and focused, the shadowy cloud engulfing them confirmed his suspicions.

Then, as Frederick reflected on what Nicholas said, memories of the shadowy beasts’ other victims filled his mind. Those monsters had killed innocent people under his orders. The realization set a new flame within him that opposed the ever growing shadow that threatened to suck the life from him.

With a labored breath, Frederick said, “You killed the others, didn’t you? Whatever you’re planning, it won’t work.”

Nicholas laughed. “Really? You think you can stop me when you don’t even know my plans.”

“You’re killing innocent people,” he rasped. “I don’t need to know your plan to know it’s unacceptable.”

He would’ve said more, but with how Nicholas was draining his power, even kneeling exhausted him. He would've slump over, but Nicholas caught him by the shoulders. His eyebrows furrowed as he inspected him. 

“You really care about dimensional beings, don’t you?” he eventually said. “Being in this weakened state seems to have sucked the ego out of you. Maybe, there’s hope for the remainder of your kind as well.”

“What do you mean?”

“Tell you what,” Nicholas said, his businessman tone returning. “I’ll offer a deal. I’ll delay your death, and when the time comes, I’ll kill you in a quick and painless way of your choosing. Moreover, I’ll spare your family and even give them some money and resources so they can carry on without you.”

“You expect me to believe you, after you tricked me earlier?” Frederick asked.

“I revealed my identity eventually, didn’t I?”

Although Frederick wanted to argue, he focused on the bigger issue. “And what exactly do I have to do? Do you expect me to just stand by while you kill more innocents?”

“To a degree, but my main request is straightforward.” He leaned close, and his tone turned icy. “Deliver your allies to me.”

Once his words registered, through the pain-filled haze, Frederick froze.

He wanted Lian Hai.

Mental images of Nicholas killing her or committing other atrocities filled his mind.

Gritting his teeth, he said, “No.”

Nicholas’s expression went blank. “What was that?”

“You heard me.” Frederick glared and sharpened his tone. “I won’t do it.”

“That’s what I thought, but I’d hoped you’d see sense.” Nicholas rose. “No worries. I can track them down myself.”

Shadows swirled and solidified around his fist, and he slammed one into the side of Frederick’s head. Pain exploded in his skull, and he didn’t have time to recover before another blow struck the opposite side.

Blinding pain robbed Frederick of his focus, compounded by the smell of copper filling his nose. Despite that, he thrust his fist out in the vain hope of one blow landing. 

Instead, rough hands dragged him forward with enough force that his joints strained, and he yelped as he crashed to the icy ground. A heavy boot against his temple slammed his head into jagged dirt, and he couldn’t tell if the resulting crunch came from his skull or his imagination.

Despite the agony and terror gripping him, Frederick refused to yield. Keeping Nicholas distracted prevented him from targeting Amara, the kids, or Lian Hai, even if only for a little.

A high-pitched ringing made Frederick turn. Nicholas raised his arm, and it disappeared at the elbow. When it reappeared, he was holding a shadowy ax. Although he wielded it like it was made of air, Frederick doubted it would feel like that on the receiving end of any blows.

“Such a shame. I was beginning to like you, Frederick Quinn.” Nicholas raised the ax over his head. “But not even sentimentality can get in the way of the greater good.”

With his power depleted and any chance at escape rendered moot, Frederick at least wanted to die with dignity. He closed his eyes and waited for the end.

“Frederick!”